We interrupt this prolonged radio silence…

How’s your summer going, lovelies? Working on any big projects? Seen any good movies? Gone on any adventures? I’ve spent most of my time trying not to melt, and eating cold foods (ice cream) in alarmingly large quantities. I’ve also gone on several shameful Netflix binges, and read a bunch of books in my desperate attempt to hide from the sun, ranging from “meh” to “amazing” on my oh-so-detailed personal book rating scale. Oh, and much to my surprise, I’ve completed a lot of work this past month!

I know, I know…I’m as shocked as you are.

Last month, I once again found myself participating in Camp Nanowrimo. I was cautiously optimistic about the whole thing, but when the month began, I realized that I was by no means prepared to begin writing my first draft for Magic Story (obviously a code name, since titles are hard and I hate picking them). Instead, I decided to work on prewriting, settling in for extensive work on developing my characters, charting my story arc/subplots, and compiling everything into a massive zero draft. The end result? Twenty-one pages of emotional beats, plot twists, rambling notes, characters with names that change on every page, characters who appear on one page and disappear completely after that, a magic house that somehow contains a labyrinth…messy, weird, ugly, fun stuff.

And now, despite the fact that the zero draft trails off into nothingness toward the end of the second act, I feel far more prepared to start the first draft. I do have notes for the ending, detailing the major points I need to hit and a general idea of how the conflicts are ultimately resolved, but I want to leave it vague for the time being; the ending may change completely, depending on the ways in which the drafting process twists and turns my original ideas into something (hopefully) more cohesive and organic.

I’m excited to see how this all turns out, and also a bit terrified to see the artless way my clumsy hands will undoubtedly mistranslate my dreamy visions into text. The end result is bound to be hideous. But it’s the sort of hideousness only a writer can love, all jagged edges and clunky phrases and stilted dialogue and walls of exposition, which (again, hopefully) can be chipped away, buffed and polished until it reveals something beautiful.

My goal for this month is 1,000 words per day, bare minimum, on the days that I have work, and a 2,000-word minimum on my off days. I have no idea how long this draft will be, but ideally I’d like to wrap things up by the end of September and start copy editing, so I can send a semi-legible copy to my writing buddy/beta reader/favorite person.